Man Singh ki Chhatri to be restored

The historical Man singh Ki Chhatri located at Brahmkund, Har Ki Paidi, will now be restored to its original form after decades of neglect. The 400-year-old half-renovated structure stands along with Ganga temple on banks of Ganga river at Har Ki Paidi. The dome of the Chhatri is intact, say the officials.

Following orders of the High Court of Uttarakhand, a technical committee has been formed comprising IIT Roorkee director, deputed members of Central Building Research Institute and Archaeological Survey of India. The team had inspected the site and based on its report, the historical site shall be restored. Achal Mittal from CBRI Roorkee, Professor Umesh Kumar Sharma from IIT Roorkee, Ranjeet Singh from ASI and wife of Kamal Kant Budhkar were present.

The half-renovated structure was like an eyesore marring the beauty of the Har ki Paidi standing right in the middle of the ghat. Even though the renovation of the structue had started in 1998, a dispute broke out between the officials of the Ganga Mahasabha and Kamal Kant Budhkar, the head priest of the Ganga Mandir. While Ganga Mahasabha office bearers refused to accept it as proper temple, Budhkar insisted that it was a temple. Budhkar had moved the Allahabad High court seeking relief and the structure was never renovated. Recently, Allahabad Court had dismissed his writ petition and imposed some penalty on him.

Speaking to this correspondent, the Kumbh Mela officer Deepak Rawat said, “Regarding the new construction undertaken over the dome of Man singh ki Chhatri, the High Court orders have clearly stated that the original dome must be restored. The ventilators made in the dome have been covered, broken, new circumambulation pathway was being made. We are taking the experts’ opinion and original structure needs to be restored.”

Telling about the historicity of the Chhatri, Devendra Gupta, Professor and Head of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya said, “When the father of Raja Mansingh had died, he sent the ashes of his father for immersion in Ganga but the local priests refused calling him ‘Dharm Bhrasht” since he had married his daughter to Akbar.

Then priests from Maharashtra were brought here for rituals. Kamalkant Budhkar living in Shravannath Nagar is of the same lineage.” During 1998 Kumbh mela, cemented structure was built over Mansingh Ki Chhatri which still exists.